The invitations extended by President Draupadi Murmu to heads of state, government, and Chief Ministers of States for an official banquet during the G20 Summit in New Delhi sparked a row as the word “India” was replaced with “Bharat”.
As the Opposition Parties questioned the replacement of the “President of India” with the word “Bharat”, the leaders of the ruling dispensation hailed the move and said that the name ‘India’ was given by Britishers while the leaders of the INDIA alliance claimed that the BJP is nervous about popularity being garnered by the bloc ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha Polls.
“It is a proud moment for every Indian to have ‘The President of Bharat’ written on the invitation card for the dinner to be held at Rashtrapati Bhavan during the G20 Summit,” Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Taking a jibe at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) amid the India vs Bharat row, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha on Tuesday said that the Opposition coalition might consider changing its name from INDIA to BHARAT.
In a post on social media platform X, Raghav Chadha said, “We might consider changing the name of our alliance to BHARAT in the next meeting. Meanwhile, the BJP should now start thinking of a new name for the country.”
The invitations extended by President Draupadi Murmu to heads of state, government, and Chief Ministers of States for an official banquet during the G20 Summit in New Delhi sparked a row as the word “India” was replaced with “Bharat”.
Rather than the customary “President of India,” the term “Bharat” was used, triggering speculation within political circles, particularly among members of the Opposition INDIA alliance.
Welcoming the move of replacing the word “India” with “Bharat” on the invitations, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai questioned INDIA alliance’s objection to it.
Congress leader Sandeep Dixit said that names do not make much difference adding that BJP should focus on core issues for the betterment of the public. Speaking to reporters in Bhopal, Sandeep Dixit said, “If you read our Constitution it is written ‘India that is Bharat’. ‘Bharat’ word is prevalent in many references and cultures. It is a matter of language. I don’t think names make much difference.BJP should focus on development, inflation, employment, and corruption.”
Meanwhile, Union Minister Meenakashi Lekhi said that the ‘Bharat’ name is given by our ancestors. Speaking to ANI, Meenakashi Lekhi said, “Our Constitution says that India that is Bharat. This name (Bharat) is given by our ancestors. In ‘Vishnupuran’ it is written that the land in the North of the ‘Samudra’ and the south of the ‘Himalayas’ has the name ‘Bharat.”
Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi said that his party is dedicated to working for both India and Bharat while BJP has put its focus on India versus Bharat.
He said that it appears that the BJP is unable to accept that the INDIA alliance has garnered popular support and a newfound hostility has emerged within the BJP ranks after the emergence of the INDIA alliance.
“BJP is constantly trying to deflect attention from important issues of inflation, unemployment, a probe against Adani, China, Ladakh, J-K and Manipur. We are working for India and Bharat, while BJP is working for India vs Bharat,” he added.
BJP is nervous with the Opposition coalition, Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), said Congress MP Shaktisinh Gohil amid the India vs Bharat controversy.
“BJP is nervous with the INDIA alliance. Article 1 of the Constitution says, ‘India, that is Bharat’…What does our alliance say? Judega Bharat, jeetega India. So Bharat and India are two sides of the same coin? Who can separate them? BJP is nervous with our alliance, so they are saying all this,” the Congress MP said.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said, “Another blow to the slavery mentality. It is a proud moment for every countryman to have ‘The President of Bharat’ written on the invitation card for the dinner to be held at Rashtrapati Bhavan during the G20 Summit. Long live Mother Bharat!.”
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is afraid of the name India adding that PM Modi has increased his hatred towards the name of the country since the day opposition parties decided to name their bloc as INDIA. Speaking to ANI, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, “The Hindu name is also given by foreign countries. I think the PM himself is afraid of the name India. Since the day INDIA named alliance was formed PM Modi’s hatred toward the name India has increased.”
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that history is being rewritten in the country. The Trinamool Congress supremo questioned the Centre and asked what changed suddenly that we should use only Bharat. “…Today, they (Centre) changed the name of India. In the invitation card for the G20 Summit dinner, it is mentioned ‘Bharat’…In English, we say ‘India’ and the ‘Indian Constitution’ and in Hindi, we say ‘Bharat ka Samvidhan’. We all say ‘Bharat’, what is new in this? But the name ‘India’ is known to the world…What happened suddenly that they had to change the name of the country?… History is being rewritten in the country,” CM Mamata said.
DMK MP Kanimozhi asked whether the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is setting the agenda for the entire nation. “Reading this (G20 summit dinner invitation) brings up a lot of questions. Is RSS setting the agenda for the entire nation?” Kanimozhi asked while talking to ANI.
Saying that using ‘President of Bharat’ instead of ‘President of India’ is unprecedented, she questioned the politics behind the move. “We’ve never seen invitations going out in the name of ‘President of Bharat’, it is always been ‘President of India’ or Prime Minister of India’. Why have they done this now? What is the intention behind it? What is the politics behind it?” the DMK MP questioned.
Rajya Sabha MP and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushil Modi said that the name ‘India’ was given by Britishers and we do not raise the slogan ‘India Mata ki Jai’ but ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’.
“In the Constitution, both India and ‘Bharat’ are there. For 75 years if the President of India was written then what’s the objection to writing President of ‘Bharat’? We don’t say ‘India Mata ki Jai’ but ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’…The name India was given by the Britishers. RJD and JDU have an objection with the name Bharat then they use the name India,” Sushil Modi said.
Opposition leaders also alleged that the shift to “Bharat” instead of India was a way of preventing the alliance from being identified with the country’s name or could even be a signal from the government that the special session of Parliament to be held between September 18-22 would be about some change in the name of the country.
